Leadership Styles of California African American Community College Chancellors and Self Perceptions of the Effectiveness of their Recommendations

Improving Learning Strategies in Education

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Presentation #: 9

Date: 3rd June, 2015

Time: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Location: KARISSA (Room 3)

Abstract:

This study focused on African American community college chancellors at multicollege districts in the state of California and their leadership styles and self-perceptions of their recommendation effectiveness. The objective of this study was to explore how African American community college chancellors distinguished themselves regarding leadership styles and recommendation effectiveness. There are 112 community colleges in the state of California, which consists of 72 districts and 23 multi-college districts. The first community college was established in 1910 (Fresno City College) and in 1967 the California Chancellors Office was created. The researcher identified only 19 (two deceased) current and former African American community college chancellors at multi-college districts in California history, of which 11 chose to participate in this study. Participants completed the Leader Effectiveness Adaptability Description (LEAD-Self) instrument and a Chancellor Experiences Survey. Findings revealed 64% of the participants were classified as ?selling? leaders, meaning they used behaviors that explain, persuade, and clarify. Their secondary leadership styles were ?participating and telling,? which correlate with problem solving/encouraging and guiding/directing, respectively. This study included recommendations for implementation by the researcher, participant recommendations to community college administrators, and participant recommendations to aspiring chancellors. A recommendation by the researcher suggested studies should be conducted that focus on African American chancellors in other states to explore whether the perceptions are similar or different. The results of the demographic data correlations were interesting as a character analysis but were not surprising when compared to statistical data of upper administrators in collegiate education.